Just To Get High
by Loony-1995
Summary: Draco can't take the pressure of his family and Voldemort so finds a muggle way to get rid of it. But his best friend can't just stand back and let him. Can he help Draco or is he lost forever? Song fic: Just to Get High - Nickelback.


Another song fic; I think that's all I'm going to do at the moment, until I get a big story idea.  
Love this song and when I was listening to it and story just strolled into my head. Hope you like :D A review or comment would be loved!  
As usual, lyrics in _italics_!  
Song-fic to Just to Get High by Nickelback

* * *

_He was my best friend, I tried to help him  
But he traded everything for suffering  
And found himself alone  
I watched the lying, turn into hiding  
With scars on both his lips, his fingertips  
Were melted to the bone_

Ron sat in potions worried.  
Snape had been droning on about some potion and Ron didn't care; he had more important things to worry about. Ron stared over to the Slytherin side of the class room and allowed his eyes to rest on Draco Malfoy, his best friend. Of course, no one knew, well maybe he had let it slip to Hermione but she wouldn't say a word.  
It was obvious that he would end up becoming a death eater, his family wouldn't let him be anything else but Ron could never have imagined that he would take it this bad. Draco's eyes were cold and distant and huge bags had appeared; he was slimmer than ever; his skin almost white; and his personality had flipped. He wouldn't even talk to Ron anymore, he lied constantly and it didn't seem to care about anything anymore. As Ron studied him more, he noticed more changes. His thin lips had slits on them and his fingers looked so bony and thin. And Ron knew why.

Ron could not stand back any longer. 

_But I can still remember  
What his face looked like  
When I found him in an alley  
In the middle of the night_

Ron's mind went back to _that _night. The night he had found out.  
It had been a dark, cold and misty night and Ron had been drowning out Hermione with his muggle iPod. When his friendship bracelet, that he had got when he was five from Draco, began to gently burn; Draco needed him.

He made some lame excuse to Hermione as to why he was leaving but she didn't seem to notice; her head was buried in a huge book. He threw on a coat and left the warm safety of the Burrow, in search of his troubled friend.

It didn't take him long to find Draco, the trouble his friend was in made the burn stronger and it subconsciously guided him. But when Ron found him, he wished he hadn't.

Draco was in a damp, slimy narrow side street, curled up, sobbing away. He heard Ron coming and looked him in the eye. All Ron saw was pain, loneliness and hurt.

Ron would never be able to get _those_ eyes out of his head. They would haunt him forever.

_Tell me what you know  
Tell me what you gone and done now  
Tell me what you know  
Tell me what you gone and done now_

'Draco...Draco? What's happened?' Ron had whispered, more worried than angry.

'Leave, go,' Draco whispered weakly; Ron couldn't see him like this, he would hate him, Ron would never talk to him again.

'Draco...' started Ron, but then his eyes caught sight of a needle; Ron's eyes wandered up Draco's arms and saw a small hole, just big enough to fit a needle in. Ron didn't need to see anymore.

'Draco,' Draco knew he was in trouble now; 'what have you done? You idiot!' Ron didn't yell; he knew he shouldn't attract attention from the people that roamed these streets at this hour, but his voice was harsh and cut Draco like a knife.

'I'm sorry,' he whispered.

'To who me! WHY! You could have talked to me! You know that! I know your parents are...your parents but Draco...' Ron ran a hand nervously through his fiery hair. He knew yelling at Draco wouldn't help, just make it worse but he couldn't help it. 'How long?' Ron whispered quietly as he knelt down to Draco's height.

'...A few months,' Ron just ran a hand through his hair again.

'Bloody hell,' it was worse than he had first though; it didn't sound like this was a one off, but why hadn't the bracelet burned before? 

_Gonna do the trick, get it over with  
You're better off to take all that  
You've got and burn it on the spot  
Just to get high_

They hadn't spoken of _that _night since. Ron didn't know if Draco had carried on taking drugs, but from what he looked like, he probably had. Ron had tried to stop him, but he knew Draco wouldn't listen. He was stubborn; too stubborn for his own good.

Suddenly everyone began to move; potions was over. But Ron wasn't going to let Draco get away. He had to stop this.

'Ronald, where are you going?' Asked Hermione curiously as Ron tried to sneak off. Ron just tapped the side of his long nose and winked, Hermione just smiled and waved him goodbye.

Ron had his black hoodie on and threw up the hood as he strolled into Slytherin territory. No one stopped him; he looked like a death eater in training.

Luckily, there was a first year in front of him who opened the Slytherin door for him; he even thought he saw the first year bow his head to him. Ron didn't know where Draco's dorm was, so gruffly asked Pansy Parkinson where Draco was.

'I'll show you to his dorm,' Pansy didn't even ask who Ron was, but when they started to climb stairs she started to speak to him. 'Are you from the Dark Lord?' Ron just grunted, not saying yes and not saying no. She asked him no more. She just pointed to a door.

'Thank you.'

Ron didn't knock, just walked in.

Draco was sitting cross legged his bed, mostly likely doing some homework.

'Oi.' Draco jumped up. 'Ron?'

'No, the tooth fairy,' Ron thought he saw Draco smile. 'Tell me Draco.'

'I-I can't help it Ron, I need too. I can't stop!'

'Draco-,'

'No, Ron, listen. I'd rather throw away all of my riches than stop. They take away the pain, the pressure.'

As soon as Draco said those words, Ron knew it was going to be a million times harder than he had first thought; Ron knew Draco loved his wealth, even though he wouldn't admit it.

Ron sighed and kept trying to talk about it but Draco kept on changing the subject. Ron mentally swore and allowed the conversation to change, but he wasn't going to just forget it. Draco was his best friend and no one lets their best friend sink into the dirt without a fight.  
_  
Three days no sleeping, he gave up eating  
He sold his mother's rings, she said nothing  
And pretended not to know  
He started stealing to supply the feeling  
Found out he pulled a knife on someone's wife  
And held it to her throat_

Ron paid close attention to Draco over the next week; it got worse. The bags became darker and heavier; he paid no attention in class and his homework and test scores dropped hugely. None of the teachers understood, none knew what was happening.

Ron would watch him from the Gryffindor table; over the last week Ron had not seen him eat one thing. And what worried him the most was how the normally cool-headed, relaxed Slytherins were worrying. He constantly heard them asking him questions about his looks, lack of sleep, new eating habits and any questions which might help them to understand his change. But he would never answer them or he would ignore them. Slowly Ron saw Draco distant himself from the Slytherins.

A few days later, after the Slytherins started to really worry, Ron overheard Pansy Parkinson talking with Blaise Zabini.

"I don't know why." She had said anxiously.

"Well, don't look to me darling. I just saw them on the corner of my eyes and when I asked why he had his mum's jewellery, he freaked, yelled at me to "not be so fucking nosey". Something is seriously messed up with Draco."

"The Dark Lord?" whispered Pansy.

"No, it's something else. But I just can't put my finger on it. I'm going to keep a watch on him now." Pansy nodded in agreement; Ron was glad to see that two others would be keeping a watch on his troubled friend.

"Did you hear about last night?"

"No, but I guess it's bad." Pansy nodded.

"He mugged some woman and threatened to kill her if she didn't give him her money."

"Shit." Pansy shook her head. "Why did he need to take someone else money? He's one of the richest teens in England and I know his parents are not running out of money!"

"I know and the weirdest thing is he threatened her with a knife, not his wand."

"Pansy, this is way worse than we first thought." And Ron silently agreed; he knew that Draco was a peaceful person and in his right mind, would never threaten anyone, but he wasn't in his right mind anymore.

"Right, Blaise, tell everyone to keep a watch on Draco, make sure there is always someone with him or at least someone watching him." Blaise saluted her and they went their separate ways.

Ron was just glad to hear that it wasn't just him watching Draco now; maybe it would take a bit of the weight off of his shoulders.  
_  
But I can still remember  
What his face looked like  
When I found him in an alley  
In the middle of the night_

And it seemed that Blaise and Pansy did tell everyone to watch Draco. He had been found fulfilling the craving in some alley way by a seventh year. You could hear the shouts in Gryffindor, but yet you couldn't hear any words. Now the whole school knew something was wrong in Slytherin and they all had suspicions that it was to do with Draco. 

_Tell me what you know  
Tell me what you gone and done now  
Tell me what you know  
Tell me what you gone and done now_

Ron decided he should, to help Draco more, tell Slytherin or at least Pansy what he knew, in the hope that they would know something he didn't.

So when Hermione was doing the homework they had got today and Harry was playing exploding snap with Neville, he left the common room. Once again, he threw up his black hood and stalked towards Slytherin. And like before, Slytherins assumed he was a death eater, some bowed their heads but none dared to look into the darkness of the hood.

Luckily he caught Pansy before she entered; he beckoned her to follow and she nervously did.

'Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you,' Ron said gruffly as he locked an empty classroom door.

He flicked his wrist and the magical lamps turned on, he threw down his hood.

'Weasley!' That was the last person she had expected to be under the hood; was he a death eater?

'Yes.'

'What? Why did you go and see Draco? What do you want with me? Are you a-,'

'Pansy, please. Stop with the questions, I shall tell you all you need to know by the time you leave this room.'

'Are you a death eater? Sorry,' she smiled, forgetting that he didn't want her to ask him questions. Ron just smiled at her.

'No, but I am Draco's friend...' Ron explained all he knew and had heard and asked her what she knew.

'I never knew..._muggle_ drugs. Merlin.' Ron nodded and allowed her to soak up all the information she had just been told.

'Well, sadly we haven't found out much, Brad found him in an alley one night, that's why there was lots of yelling. But otherwise, not much, we're not very good at following people without being caught and Draco was most likely suspecting someone to follow him, which made it even harder. He hasn't gone and attacked anyone else...well as far as we know.' She smiled at him; Ron threw up his hood and went to unlock the door, when she gently grabbed his arm.

'And Ron,' she smiled. 'If we do find out anything new, I'll be sure to tell you, thank you. Thank you for looking after Draco and for the information.' Her smiled was genuine but you could see the sadness in her eyes; she didn't want Draco to hurt anymore.

'And Pansy, if I get new news I'll tell you. And no, thank you and the rest of Slytherin, you have been good to Draco; I just hope one day he appreciates it.' He left without another word and when he arrived back at Gryffindor no questions were asked.

_Gonna do the trick, get it over with  
You're better off to take all that  
You've got and burn it on the spot  
Just to get high_

But it seemed that even with Ron and the whole of Slytherin looking after Draco, it somehow got worse. Ron had heard from Pansy, that Draco's beautiful _expensive _clothing had gone missing and then the night later, Draco himself had disappeared, only to return in the morning looking worse for wear. They tried as hard as they could, but the truth was they had no clue what to do. The Slytherin had never had any experience with someone this deep in trouble, they were used to the good and happy life; the biggest worry being what to wear. And even Ron, who had had a hard and trying life so far, struggled; he could usually work out other people's problems but he had hit a wall here. Nothing he thought of worked. It seemed that they were losing Draco fast. 

_Tell me what you did, where you gone and hid?  
Show me what you really want, was it what you got?  
Slowly circle in the drain, throw it all away  
Just to get high, high, high, oh_

Draco had not been seen at Hogwarts for a few days; Ron sent out a call through his friendship bracelet. He knew that how low Draco went, he would never take off his bracelet...because Ron had charmed it to his arm.

It turned out Draco hadn't left Hogwarts. Ron walked down to the lake during the dead of night.

'Hey,' he whispered gently. Draco sniffed loudly and whispered a hello back.

'Mind if I sit down?' Draco shook his head, for once in the last few weeks, he wanted Ron's company and he needed a friend now. He was just starting to realise that. Ron sat next to Draco and look out over the lake and up to the starry sky.

'It's nice here; I see why you hid here,'

'I didn't hide, I'm not a coward.' Said Draco weakly, but Ron had a hard time believing it; he knew Draco was anything but a coward, but was he fighting these urges?

'Is this want you want to do with your life Draco? Do you really want to spend it hiding away from everything? I know you have a complicated life, but hiding won't solve it, nor will taking drugs.'

'No Ron, of course I don't want to be like this. I want to be me.'

'But Draco, the drugs are changing you. I know everything.' Draco looked down ashamed of what he had done but he knew that he couldn't change any of it and that Ron would never let him forget what he had done, but maybe that would be a good thing. 'Where are the drugs Draco? I know you've got some.'

Draco sighed and pulled out a clear bag from his pocket.

'Throw them.'

'What!'

'I don't care how much you paid for them or how you did, but throw them in the lake. Throw the drugs away, not your life.' Draco looked at Ron and smiled. He stood up and launched the drugs as far as he could.

_Tell me what you know  
Tell me what you gone and done now  
Tell me what you know  
Tell me what you gone and done now_

Of course, Slytherin were delighted with the news that Draco was dumping drugs and they couldn't thank Ron enough. But they didn't realise how hard it was living with a drug addict who was trying to quit. He had more mood swings than a pregnant woman. He was moody, nasty and spiteful. Maybe he should have been slowly taken off them, not straight away.

He was locked up in his room at night, so that he couldn't go and buy more. The windows were magically sealed; there was no way Slytherin were going to let him get more.

_Gonna do the trick, get it over with  
You're better off to take all that  
You've got and burn it on the spot  
Just to get high_

It was over. Draco's drugs. He was off them. They didn't need to worry and watch anymore, they could trust him again. Of course, Draco couldn't get back his mother's jewellery, but she didn't care, it gave her an excuse to get more. He still felt bad about the woman he had mugged, so he found out who she was and gave her double the money he had taken.

He looked back now and realised how stupid he had been and how out of his own mind he had been. He never wanted to get high again, he wanted to keep as far away from drugs as he could.

_Tell me what did, where you gone and hid?  
Show me what you really want, was it what you got?  
Slowly circle in the drain, throw it all away  
Just to get high, just to get high  
Circle in the drain, throw it all away  
Just to get high_

Now that the drugs were gone, the reason he had first started was still there. His parents were still trying to make him a death eater. And now he had been given a task from the Dark Lord, but if he was honest he would rather be one of them than the person he had been on drugs.

He wasn't going to hide from them, he would become one but he would help the light. His soul had already been scarred once; he wouldn't let it be hurt if he could help it. Helping the light would heal the scars made by the Dark Lord and his followers.  
But also he knew it wouldn't be so bad. Ron was his best friend and would never leave him, now he knew how true that was. Ron had agreed to join the darkness for his friend.

Draco wasn't going to throw his life away, not now, not ever.


End file.
